Mobile communication systems have evolved over the past ten years or so from the GSM System (Global System for Mobiles) to the 3G system and now include packet data communications as well as circuit switched communications. The third generation partnership project (3GPP) has now began to develop a fourth generation mobile communication system referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE) in which a core network part has been evolved to form a more simplified architecture based on a merging of components of earlier mobile communications network architectures and a radio access interface which is based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) on the uplink. The core network components are arranged to communicate data packets in accordance with an enhanced packet communications system.
Third and fourth generation mobile telecommunication systems, such as those based on the 3GPP defined UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture are able to support more sophisticated services than simple voice and messaging services offered by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems.
For example, with the improved radio interface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, a user is able to enjoy high data rate applications such as mobile video streaming and mobile video conferencing that would previously only have been available via a fixed line data connection. Third and fourth generation mobile communication networks therefore typically employ advanced data modulation techniques on the radio interface which can require more complex and expensive radio transceivers to implement. However not all communications are of a nature which requires the full bandwidth capability of for example the LTE system. Accordingly, it is may be more appropriate to adopt a technique which communicates some types of data as more efficiently than using the full-bandwidth capability of a mobile communications system.